‘What is the greatest global issue we face today?’

Twenty students were asked along Caf Lane and near the Caf what they thought were the greatest global issues of the day. Here are their responses.

“I feel like the greatest one is energy. All of our energy sources are going to eventually run out and we can’t seem to figure out something fast enough that’s going to replenish what we’re using up.”

Caitlin Brandt, Senior, Child Development

“Here would be the drought. Global issue, I’m not sure.”

Logan LaRossa, Freshman, Biochemistry

“There’s hundreds of millions of children who live and work on the streets and don’t have people who take the initiative to get them educated and off the streets and give them a chance at a future that is outside prostitution and drugs and gangs. So I think that’s the biggest problem because that is what really extends the cycles of poverty in the world.”

Elizabeth Robinson, Sophomore, Biology

“Hunger.”

Julio Mejia, Senior, Psychology

“I’m not very informed on much going on. Being a freshman, I don’t have a TV or anything like that. It’d probably be [human] trafficking.”

Mackenzie Gilliam, Freshman, Psychology

“I don’t know. I don’t watch the news a lot, so I’m not really sure.”

AJ Derr, Junior, History

“I want to say ignorance. People are so set in their own views…People don’t educate themselves and there’s this psychology term, confirmation bias, and we seek out these things that confirm our beliefs but we lack probably the most important part of that which is researching other things so like, a Republican watches Fox News but neglects to watch anything else that might even a little bit disconfirm what they actually believe. We have all of these resources and there’s so many things we can educate ourselves for and with. And we watch Netflix and use the internet to go on Facebook and Buzzfeed when there’s so many things going on that are so much more important and we just live in our own worlds and we go to this $40,000 a year school. We go to class, we do homework and we are shooting for this goal to hopefully become less neglectful of the bigger issues around us but we just don’t actually – we’re getting there but I think that’s probably the biggest global issue.”

Alexandra Bitter, Sophomore, Psychology

“I’m not really up to date on that kind of stuff.”

Erin Yancey, Freshman, Fashion Merchandising

Normally I would be, but I have no TV here so I don’t watch TV ever…Oh yeah, Ebola. Everyone’s been talking about Ebola lately. I feel like that’s it.”

Jordan Antol, Freshman, Kinesiology

“I feel like on the news, it’s been like sicknesses and stuff.”

Hannah McConnell, Freshman, Pre-Nursing

“I think it’s chemistry.”

Garrett Roth, Freshman, Applied Health Science

“Probably ISIS right now because they’re just threatening the entire Middle East and possibly America.”

Samuel Doctorian, Freshman, Kinesiology

”Ebola.”

Scott Brown, Freshman, Kinesiology

“Poverty.”

Blake Smith, Freshman, Business Administration

“Sex trafficking.”

Madison Pledger, Freshman, Nursing

“I would say, it probably sounds cliché, but I would say either the Ebola outbreak or the issues with ISIS. I’ve been following both of those pretty closely and if either of those get out of hand it could be pretty devastating to say the least.”

Matt Hutchel, Senior, Applied Health Science

“I feel like a lot of issues that are going on right now are differences in culture and differences in beliefs. Even though there’s so many little subtopics and things, I think above everything, it’s trying to figure out, not only as a country or as small ethnic groups, but as a global society. Figuring out how to respond to other cultures and whether some things are okay, whether they’re not okay. It’s hard to put a label on what’s one issue, but I feel like a lot of things go back to this difference in culture and the misunderstandings that arise from not being able to comprehend the different needs that each culture has or the different values each culture has. A lot of problems can arise from that.”

Enya Valentin, Junior, Pyschology

“I have no idea.”

Lynee Jacks, Freshman, Undeclared

“Population growth. There’s too many people in the world and not enough resources to sustain that.”

Kellyn James, Senior, Industrial Organizational Psychology

“Well I guess in terms of people, I know human trafficking is a big issue mostly because it’s very underground. Lots of people don’t know about it and so it’s a big issue because not a lot of people are aware of it.”

Percival Luke Verayo, Sophomore, Graphic Design